Category Archive

It feels like an accomplishment that I just had a book review published in a professional journal (ARLIS NA Reviews of the Art Libraries Society). I wrote about the Lawrence Weiner retrospective book of essays titled As Far As the Eye Can See, which gave me a chance to think about contemporary art in a more critical way than I usually do. I definitely learned a lot from the book and the experience.

I really enjoy writing book reviews, particularly about art-related subjects. I feel really fortunate to find an outlet like Moonshine, which welcomes my reviews every couple of months. I don’t get paid, but I definitely reap the intellectual rewards. It keeps me reading and pursuing new subject matter, and forces me to think critically. And hopefully it is helping to polish my resume, regardless of the direction I take in the future.

I was excited to find a new writing opportunity this week. I will be writing book reviews for the new online arts magazine Moonshine– another one of those unpaid gigs that seem to be so ubiquitous. If only money and librarianship were more compatible. While not necessarily library-related, it’s a good chance to spread my literary wings a bit, polish the old resume, and read more art books. Win win.

This is a thought I’ve had quite often lately as I consider my next career moves. If you haven’t heard, it’s expensive to live in Santa Fe. Another news flash: librarians don’t make much money. Neither do registrars. I’ve been considering options such as relocating to Albuquerque to save money on rent, which would mean an hour commute. But they have comfy park-and-ride buses (and a thusfar elusive “Railrunner” train) between the two cities, so it wouldn’t be all bad.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be in the running for the University of New Mexico Libraries’ Resident Program. It’s a 1 to 2 year residency that gives new librarians a taste of just about every aspect of librarianship – from reference to cataloging to archives. If nothing else, I would be extremely well-rounded. I kind of want my next position to be more longterm (in the 5 year range) so I can finally feel settled and maybe do the whole house/dog commitment thing, but this would be a great opportunity.

I’m pleased to announce that my article has been selected for the February issue of the NMRT Bulletin! Thanks for all the encouragement from everyone. It feels good to know that I will see my name in (virtual) print.

I finally finished a submission draft of my article. As promised, it’s awash with metaphor. I just couldn’t help it. I’m still not sure where I’m going to submit it, but this has been a long time coming! I’m glad to have the story in writing.

In a similar vein, I just joined a Santa Fe writer’s group. I’ve been looking for different ways to get more involved with the community, and also trying to coerce myself to be a less lazy writer. This should kill both birds with the same stone. I need some new inspiration, and some helpful criticism wouldn’t hurt.

As I work on getting my article past the stream of consciousness stage, I’m revisiting a troubling verity from my English major days. I am an extremely lazy and reluctant editor. Unless I’m forced to make changes, usually I go with the first draft and call it good enough. Maybe this is why I never pursued a career in creative writing, editing, or journalism, even though those seemed like the logical outlets for my love of written language. I just can’t imagine spending 8 hours a day contemplating minute tweakings of a manuscript. I also hate to trim anything – it seems like such a waste (sort of like throwing away perfectly good food).

In the interest of total disclosure, the same laziness infects this blog…rarely do I go back and restructure my ideas before posting. I’m sure this sometimes results in confusing, random, or simply trivial posts. But at the same time, the whole idea behind blogging is to get ideas in print in a somewhat informal and collaborative manner, from which more structured thinking and writing can develop. So maybe I’m on the right track after all.

I’ve been typing away diligently on my narrative/possible article about how my experiences, education and jobs have come together over the past few years as I build towards that elusive entity known as a “career”. I even have a working title – “Charting Choppy Waters: The Lessons of Uncertainty.” After all, what is a library article without metaphor?

I’m not sure yet if this is my own personal summary and rehash or a sincere publishing attempt. Right now I’m at the brainstorming stage as to where such an exercise would be best received. I’m looking at different LIS publications and theme issues.